The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), the industry association for news television broadcasters, announced the launch of its new venture, Digital News Federation on Monday (DNF).

DNF is an exclusive organization whose mission is to protect editorial freedom and the commercial interests of online news platforms.

The NBF established a sub-committee to address the challenges faced by existing TV news broadcasters’ digital arms. Understanding the industry’s needs and issues, NBF has broadened the scope of the subcommittee and decided to include independent digital news publishers as well as their respected members, a media statement from NBF said.

DNF is a joint venture between NBF and Webnyay, the ecosystem for grievance redressal and online dispute resolution.

24News’ Sreekandan Nair stated, “News platforms in India now have complete freedom to operate without engaging in unethical misinformation dissemination or cyberbullying. Digital news platforms, like broadcast news networks, must exercise self-control.”

“The changes in the news and media landscape have been dramatic in the last decade. All print and broadcast news outlets have adapted to it. To play a constructive role in this evolution NBF has launched DNF at the right time and moment for the news industry,” said Jagi Panda, Managing Director of Odisha Television.

As there has been a paradigm shift in news media consumption, DNF aims to represent the collective interests of digital news publishers. According to the NBF statement the goal of DNF is to create transparent, dynamic, and ethical self-regulated journalistic standards for the industry.

The launch of DNF will give the much-needed impetus to digital news platforms across the country, which have seen a surge in readership and viewership in the last two years,” said Sanjive Narain, Founder of Prag News.

Fourth Dimension Media CEO Shankar B stated, “This announcement makes me extremely happy and excited. NBF has always been ahead of the competition and will continue to chart new territory.”

Founder of iTV Network Kartikeya Sharma stated, “I am overjoyed to learn that the News Broadcasters Federation has launched the Digital News Federation in partnership with Webnyay. I am confident that the new initiative will benefit digital news publishers as a whole. I hope it will also contribute to the development of a transparent and dynamic ecosystem for digital media in the country. It would also be a great pleasure to see that the DNF ultimately creates an ethical structure, fostering overall growth of digital media.”

“The line dividing linear and non-linear news is fast disappearing with the march of technology,” said Barun Das, MD, CEO of TV9 Network and Vice-President of DNF.

“It is an excellent time to consider broadcast and digital as two convergent perspectives that foster the creation, distribution, and monetization of news. The inclusion of digital news publishers is required to enable a new all-encompassing identity – Digital News Federation (DNF). Digital news publishers have yet to receive their fair share of the revenue. DNF will work toward this goal by initiating dialogues with all stakeholders on behalf of its members,” he added.

“We welcome News Broadcaster Federation’s initiative of DNF,” said Manoj Gairola of News Nation, “It will include not only the digital wing of a television news broadcaster but also several digital news publishers. DNF will be the first self-regulatory body in the whole digital news publishing ecosystem which will immensely benefit the industry”

DNF begins its journey with nearly 100 online platforms, with a combined audience of more than 200 million, both independent and as extensions and digital arms of NBF Member TV channels, the release said.

The decision to launch DNF was made at a meeting of the NBF Governing Board, which was presided over by founding President Arnab Goswami.

“Webnyay is honored to support the News Broadcasters Federation by providing technology and support to its members and the self-regulatory body for resolving grievances and disputes in an easy-to-use, automated, and seamless manner,” said Vishwam Jindal, Webnyay’s Founder.